Patent GB-943438-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to the covering of books
Inventor: THOMPSON JACK EVANS
IPC: B42C11/04
Filed: 1961-07-28
Abstract: 943,438. Bookbinding; feeding sheets. R. D. H. THOMPSON & CO. Ltd. Oct. 26, 1962 [July 28, 1961], No. 27539/61. Headings B6A and B6B. Bookbinding.-A method of applying a back or cover to a book by means of a heat-sealable adhesive interposed between end papers or end pages of the book and the back, includes the steps of feeding the book in an upright position with the spine uppermost, opening out the end papers or end pages so that they form a substantial T-shape with the book body, the papers or pages forming the top arm of the T, positioning a back in register with the end papers or pages, spot-sealing the latter to the back, and then completing the heat-sealing operation of the back to the end papers. As described, the machine is for covering a diary with a soft cover, but it can be used for hard-backed books with round or square spines, in which case the spotsealing operation may be carried out with the end papers and backs lying at an angle of 45 degrees to the vertical. The plan view of Fig. 1 shows operation stations 1 to 6, stations 2, 3, 5, and 6 each being formed from two mirrorimage halves located one on each side of a centre-line XX but only one half of each being shown. At station 1 a stack of uncovered diaries with spines uppermost is placed between side walls to rest on feed tapes 8 which are driven intermittently in the direction. C. The foremost diary is ejected lengthwise in the direction I by a pusher to station 2 where the thickness is checked by side bars which act as a brake, and operate a microswitch to stop the machine if the diary is too thick. Compressed air is directed from below and at each end of the diary to blow upwardly the end papers or pages, and opposed suction pads 10 engage the end papers and open them to lie at 45 degrees to the diary body. The diary body is then gripped by opposed grippers 14, Fig. 12, and carried to station 3, the end papers moving over fixed ploughs 63 which raise the papers to make an angle of 90 degrees to the diary body 65. A rubber pad 68 on an arm 67 bears on, and breaks the stiffness of, the diary spine during the passage through station 3. The grippers 14 return to station 2, and another set, which have returned from station 5, grip and transfer the diary to station 5 where side plates 26 support the end papers at right angles to the diary, and a back or cover is placed thereover. The cover is transferred from a table 29 by an arm 27, pivoted at 28, and both the diary and the cover are registered at the front and rear by jogger plates 70, 72 operated by a shaft 31. The end papers and cover are also registered at the sides by channel-shaped members and bars secured to slidable blocks 42, Fig. 12, and the cover and end papers are bowed upwardly. In this condition, silicone-rubber pads 47 on arms 48 descend on each side of the diary, and heatspotting blocks 49 rise through apertures in the plates 26 and press the cover and end papers against the pads 47. The blocks 42, pads 47, and blocks 49 are actuated, respectively, by arms 50, 52 and 53, each provided with adjusting means. Since either the end papers or the inside of the cover has been previously coated with a dried heat-sealable adhesive, the cover and end papers are thus spot-welded together. A set of grippers 14 now transfers the covered diary to station 6 where the end papers and attached cover fall from the T-position to a 45- degree position to lie over heated platens 120, Fig. 12, and silicone-rubber pads 121 descend to press the cover sides on to the platens to completely heat-seal them to the end papers. Each pad 121 is adjustable by screws 126, and carried by a slide 122 which is reciprocated in a frame 123 by toggle link means 124 and a pusher rod 125. As described, there are three stations 6 to ensure complete heat-sealing, and in each succeeding station the platens 120 are raised by a small amount so as to engage more closely between the diary body and end papers as close to the spine as possible. At station 4 the covers or backs are stacked on edge in a trough and are urged in the direction D against a front stop by two tapes 55 which are driven intermittently. As shown in Fig. 13, covers 83 are separated sequentially from the stack by telescopic sucker arms 80, and placed on a table 29. If the diary cover 83 has a pencil loop in the spine, slidable sections 100 of the table 29 move inwardly to form the loop, and pairs of grippers operated by a pneumatic device 104, 105 close over the loop and preform it. The cover is subsequently fed from table 29 to station 5 by the swinging arm 27. The diaries are moved through stations 2, 3, 5 and 6 by the opposed sets of grippers 14, Fig. 12, which grip a diary at one station, feed it to the next, and then return to the former station. Each gripper arm is pivoted on a split block 23 secured on a shaft 24 which is rocked and also reciprocated lengthwise of the machine in guides 39. The mechanisms may be operated by motor driven camshafts, or a series of hydraulic cylinder and ram assemblies. Feeding sheets.-Sheet-separators. The book covers 83, Fig. 13, are stacked on edge between side channels 56, Fig. 1, and are urged against a front stop-plate by a pair of intermittentlydriven belts 55 on which they rest. Each cover is separated by one or more telescopic sucker arms 80 pivoted at 81, each arm having a follower 86 urged against a cam 84 having a reduced section 87. The suckers 82 withdraw a cover 83 when the followers engage the section- 87, and both the arms 80 and the cam 84 are rotated together until the arms are vertical, whereupon the arms stop, the followers ride out of the section 87 to lower the cover on the table 29, and the cover is then released by the suckers.  Feed tables; sheet forwarders. The feed table 29 is provided with two small holes 88 connected by pipes to a source of vacuum to retain the flat cover 83 in position 89, Fig. 1, and the cover is transferred to a second position 95 on the table which also has two suction holes 88: from this second position, the cover is carried by the pivoted oscillating gripper 27 and placed over a book filler. The means for moving the cover from position 89 to position 95 on the table 29 comprises guides 90, Fig. 13, at the side of the table slidably supporting a carrier arm 91 on which are suction heads 94, the arm 91 being pivotal about a shaft 92 to enable a cover to be picked up. Registering. As shown in the right hand half of Fig. 12, the book filler 65 has its. end papers raised to a horizontal position and supported by side plates 26 to receive a cover, which is in a flat condition. Pivoted jogger plates 70, Fig. 10, are swung by shafts 31 to register the book cover 71 fore and aft, and a cranked arm 72, secured to each jogger and adjustable relative thereto by a screw 74, registers the book filler 65. Side register of the cover and extended end papers is also effected by joggers. A phosphorbronze channel-shaped strip which engages each side edge of the end paper is carried by a block 42 slidable towards and away from the book, and a further block 44 on the block 42 carries an adjustable jogger 46 which engages the cover.